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Dillingham cagers sweep Nikiski

The second day of the 23rd annual Nikiski Tip Off Tournament did not end well for the home teams. Both boys and girls teams lost to overpowering Dillingham on Friday night at Nikiski.

The Wolverines won the girls game 53-33 and the boys game 60-47.

The Nikiski boys kept the game close, trailing 28-26 at halftime, and outscoring Dillingham 17-9 in the second quarter. However, Dillingham pulled away in the fourth quarter to win.

Dillingham had four players with point totals in the double digits, with senior Justin Braswell topping them with 19 points. Juniors Cade Schlagel and Kendell Alvarado had 14 and 13 points, respectively.

Senior Lucas Herrin of Nikiski put up 22 points, and senior teammate Colton Anderson had 12 for the night.

“I felt pretty good, I had a lot more focus today, just on the rims and basketball,” Herrin said. “We need to work on shot selection, and we did good tonight, but it’s about transitions, so that’s what we need to focus on for tomorrow.”

Despite the loss, Nikiski coach Reid Kornstad said some positive things happened on the court.

“We worked together much better than last night, trying to come together has been somewhat up-and-down,” Nikiski head coach Reid Kornstad said. “There were several times the boys could have put the game away and didn’t, but Dillingham was just a little too much.

"I did feel good about our commitment to staying together. When things aren’t going right on the scoreboard it’s really easy to become negative, so we’ve been able to stay positive.”

Dillingham head coach Deon Lopez said this game made up for a previous beat down from the Bulldogs.

“They wanted revenge,” Lopez said. “We got blown away by twenty-something points last year, and they came out determined and ready. They came out playing defense with their feet and not their hands, stayed out of foul trouble, and were aggressive.

“We’re doing good, and this is only our fourth game of the year, so as long as we stay out of trouble, we’ll be fine. These kids are anxious about this season.”

The Dillingham girls had a big third quarter to put the game away against the Nikiski Bulldogs, outscoring their opponents 18-6, including a stretch of 14 unanswered points.

“At halftime I told them to turn around, play with a little intensity, play with a little swagger, be confident when you’re shooting those shots,” Dillingham head coach Levi Duca said. “Sure enough, things started turning around, and we started getting more transitions and layups.”

Nikiski had eight girls score points, with senior Dylan Holloway leading the way with 11 points, and senior Savannah Griffel contributing nine points.

“We lost Savannah for a bit because she got in foul trouble and got run over, so as a team I thought that would affect us a lot more,” senior guard Koey Dixon said. “We stuck together, but they got in our face and stressed us out, even though we played better as a team.

"We need to work on turnovers, smart passing and being smart and assertive with the ball.”

Nikiski head coach Scott Anderson said Dillingham controlled the tempo of the game from the get-go.

“We need to be more ready to play, we need to learn to handle pressure on the court, and take care of the ball, not turn it over, and it really came down to who was tougher,” Anderson said.

Duca said Saturday's game against Skyview should be a real judge of talent.

“Skyview is a lot bigger than us, so we’re going to have to rely on our speed and hopefully that plays to our advantage," he said.

Dillingham begins play at Skyview Saturday at noon, while Nikiski hosts Houston at 3 p.m.